A typical day for two nomads

Ted. Many people tell us that they can’t imagine sightseeing every day:  packing and unpacking constantly, eating in restaurants all of the time, and rarely seeing their kids or grandkids. Judy and I couldn’t agree more! Nearly two years into retirement, I think our lives are surprisingly similar to those of our retired friends, aside from the fact that, when I wake up in the morning, I sometimes have to remind myself what country I’m in. There are times when we are very active tourists, like our two weeks in Morocco. These weeks are balanced, though, with more leisurely stays like the month we are currently enjoying in Las Palmas. Our lives here are much the same as they would be were we still in the apartment in Atlanta that we loved so much.

On waking up, we typically fix a light breakfast, browse the news online and play sudoku and crosswords. That’s followed by morning stretches, exercises and showers. Then come our routine items like doing laundry, buying groceries, paying bills, studying Spanish, checking Facebook (Judy), writing blog posts, doing research on future destinations, going to a yoga class (Judy), and cleaning up around the apartment. After that could come a walk (here, that means the beach for Judy) and then lunch preparation. This is normally our main meal of the day and we try to fix healthy food with lots of salads and vegetables. After lunch, I like to read and then nap while Judy reads (on the beach). Late afternoon is the time for a walk that includes a stop at a cafe. 2-3 times per week we do a little exploring. We rarely see all of the popular sights where we live but we do like to see some of them.  We usually have extra activities throughout the week like church, volunteer opportunities and “Meetup” groups. Sometimes we have friends in the area and join them for outings. Every week or two, we Facetime our kids and grandkids. Our days usually wind down with a snack at home while playing cards or watching something on Netflix. We finish with our books and bed.

So – yes, we are living as nomads, wandering the world, but a typical day is much as it would be if we stayed in Atlanta. But then again, we do get to stroll the beach promenade after my nap today!